There are not a whole lot of new stories around. This one I am about to tell you is new to me and also segue into my message for today. It is a story about a shepherd who was herding a large flock of sheep in a remote pasture. Suddenly across the field comes a brand new BMW in a cloud of dust. The car arrives where the sheep are located. The young driver gets out dressed to the teeth in designer clothes. He says to the shepherd, “If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?”  

The shepherd gazes at his peacefully grazing flock and finally says, “Sure.” 

The young man pulls out his high end laptop computer, connects it to his cell phone and calls up a GPS navigational system. He opens up a program and a database. Sends an e-mail and gets a response back in seconds. He prints out a report on his hi tech miniature computer. Then he turns to the shepherd and says, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep.” 

“That is correct,” the shepherd replied. He watches the man gather up an animal and put it in his car. Then the shepherd says, “If I tell you exactly what business you are in, will give me my animal back?” 

“Okay, why not?” answers the young man. 

“You are a consultant,” says the shepherd. 

“That is correct. How did you know that?” 

“No guessing required.” Replies the other. “First of all you turned up here although nobody invited you. Secondly, you wanted to get paid to answer a question which I already knew. And thirdly, you know nothing about my business. Now give me back my dog!” 

Paul was a worthy consultant to the early church. He founded many churches and then consulted with them regularly. The letters in the New Testament in large part are correspondence between those congregations and the Apostle Paul. 

His favorite congregation seems to have been the one at Philippi. Paul loved that fledgling Christian community. Twice in that letter near the end he writes, “And now finally…” A professor of preaching at seminary once said, “Never say ‘finally’ in a sermon unless you really mean it.” Paul says it twice in Philippians and then goes on at length. 

In one instance (our text for today) he says this: 

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,

whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever

is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is

commendable. If there is any excellence and

if there is anything worthy of praise, think about

these things.” 

Paul lifts up certain values for special consideration. These things he says are, “excellent” Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable. These are the excellent things. He talks about excellence in other places as well. In 1 Corinthians 12, he talks about giving the people a more excellent way to live. Then he goes on to write a whole chapter on love. In another place he writes about excellent generosity.  

In essence Paul is saying, “Do what is excellent.” His theme is excellence.  Should that not be my or your or our faith based theme as well? 

Some will say, “No that is too much like a business. Too much like a corporation. It is too much a quest for quality or a strategic plan in business. Is this really what the church ought to be about?” 

Others will say, “It is great to promote excellence in the church, but you at Christ Church are a very large church. You have the human and financial resources to obtain excellence.” 

Let me tell you something. I have been in some very large churches over the years that are a long way from excellence. I have been in some smaller churches that hold that theme high and in a beautiful way. 

One of the best phrases I have heard in recent years is this one, Excellent honors Christ. Is this not what Paul is saying to his church and to us? 

EXCELLENT LIVING 

For one thing Paul says, “Live excellently, live to the highest standards that you know.” At the ordination service at Grove City College this morning, the Bishop will ask a number of new ordinands a questions something like this, “Will you live up to the highest standards and disciplines of the Christian life? “ At the new member reception we always ask new members this question, “Do you promise according to the grace given you to lead a Christian life to the best of your ability?” A large part of our call and witness is toward excellence in a sloppy living world. We are called to take living to the next level – to a higher standard. 

EXECELLENT WORSHIP 

We are also called to excellence in worship. Worship doesn’t just happen, especially here. It is much more than the organist walking in and the choir arriving and we begin the service. Worship is planned and thought through. Mark Reed puts together a draft of the worship service each week based on some material that I give him. Then he, Linda Williams and I meet on Tuesday afternoon to go over the service and plan it carefully. We don’t look at every detail, but we do look at the hymns, the litanies and the anthems to see if they fit the theme. Is there room for spontaneity? Of course. One preacher prayed one time at the beginning of a worship service, “Lord, let something happen in this place today that is not in this bulletin.” There is room for spontaneity. But excellent worship honors an excellent God. 

EXCELLENT GIVING 

There is also a call to excellent giving to extraordinary generosity. “God’s people,” says Paul, “model extraordinary giving.” Paul says in one place, “As you excel in many things, I want you to excel in this aspect of your living as well.” 

We saw some of that here this past weekend. Last week this congregation gave over $45,000.00 for Homestead new church start – a plan that is unproven and one that has considerable risk. In addition to that you gave a clear God honoring general budget offering as well. 

Excellent giving is one that is risk-taking, courageous and stretching. This is what is worthy of praise says our text. 

EXCELLENCE IN SPIRITUAL GIFTS 

Paul also asks for excellence use of our spiritual gifts. An estimated 5-600 persons here have taken the spiritual gifts training that we offer. You have learned the nature and meaning of those gifts. Paul says, “Having gifts that differ, let us use them well. “Gifts in the Christian church are not allowed to atrophy or lie dormant. 

EXCELLENT JUSTICE 

Paul speaks about justice in the text for this morning. I am convinced that Jesus was about justice. Jesus was about many things – compassion, forgiveness, good stewardship, and prayer. But he was also about justice. He must have known the text from Micah that says, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice…” Justice means something especially for the poor, the marginalized, or the disenfranchised. 

There is a strong Christian movement in the country today among people who believe that poverty is the number one justice issue of our time and of our world. It is the number one issue for people of faith. Monday night on CNN there was a live interview with questions and answers with some of the people who are declared candidates for the Presidency in 2008. They were asked the questions, “What does your faith tell you about what we need to do?” Several of them talked about poverty as a faith issue. 

Poverty may be the #1 danger in our world. The danger is not Al Quaida. The danger is not Islamic radicals or terrorists. The danger is poverty. Poverty produces violence. Paul calls for excellent justice in order to reduce poverty. 

One prominent theologian said, “Do whatever you can to reduce poverty so that violence does not destroy us.” Another person has said, “People with out hope are very dangerous.” This is part of what the Homestead project will be about. We will be addressing poverty as an excellent justice issue for that church.  A few years ago Donald English spoke before the World Methodist Council. This is what he said: 

“While Methodists are committed to heartwarming religion, they must not forget the importance of obedience. Doing the will of the Lord is crucial for our worship, growth and witness. When we neglect the challenge to worship God worthily, to make the Good News known to the world, to care for the poorest and neediest around us, to struggle for a more just society; when we neglect those things we easily lower our vision.”[i] 

Whatever is just…if there is any excellence…think on these things. 

EXCELLENT PEACE 

We are also called to the excellence in the cause of peace. How long will we try to achieve peace by means of violence and conquest? I am not a knowledgeable historian, but I think that is what destroyed the Roman Empire. Should we not advocate peace through non-violence and through justice for the poor. Jesus lamented one time, “Oh that you knew the things that make for peace.” 

What is excellent? What is excellence? “Think about these things,” says Paul. 

Paul’s words are more an admonition than an answer.  They are more of an encouragement that an edict. They are more a direction than a demand. 

“Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is commendable, whatever is pure…” 

EXCELLENT PURITY 

Paul talks about excellent purity. What does this mean? A nineteenth century Danish Theologian wrote a book called Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing. What is that one thing?  

Do you remember the movie City Slickers a few years ago? There is a wonderful conversation in the movie between characters played by Billy Crystal and an old cowboy played by Jack Palance. Billy Crystal plays the part of the young man who has gone out to a dude ranch to try to find himself in mid life. The conversation goes something like this. 

Palance says, “Yeah, you all come out here about the same age. Same problems. You spend 50 weeks a year getting knots in your rope, then you think two weeks up here will untie them for you. None of you get it. (There is a long pause) Do you know what the secret of life is?” 

Crystal says, “No, what?” Palance answers, “This” and he holds up his index finger. Crystal, “Your finger?” Palance, “One thing, just one thing. You stick to that and everything else doesn’t mean a thing.” The would be cowboy asks, “That is great, but what is the one thing?” And the old cowboy says, “That’s what you have got to figure out.” 

Purity of heart is to will what God wants for your life, for your church and for your world. It is not what you or I want. It is not what the majority wants. It is not what Congress wants. But what God wants. 

Purity of the heart is to listen to the Wind of the Spirit and will what God wants. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

Maya Angelou writes:

“Contemporary writers rarely employ such words as purity, temperance, goodness, worth, or even moderation. We need to examine what the absence of these qualities has done to our communal spirit. And we must learn how to retrieve them from the dust heap of non-use and turn them to a vigorous role in our lives.”[ii] 

Is this not what Paul is saying? Is this not what Paul is urging upon the church? Excellence in the things of God and of Jesus? The old philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit.” 

John Wesley may have put it best when he said:

Do all the good you can

By all the means you can

In all the ways you can

In all the places you can

At all the times you can

To all the people you can

As long as ever you can 

Let this community of believers called Christ Church work together for the kind of excellence that honors Jesus.